Saturday, January 20, 2018

Reader's Thoughts by Christy and Daisy

Hello fellow Rebels!!

As we hail our 5 month mark, we here at Rebellious Writing can safely say that we really didn't expect this movement to take off as it has, and that we weren't expecting several of the opportunities that came our way. And we sincerely thank our supporters, our Activists, and our readers for all of that support and those opportunities. A round of applause to you all!!

It must be admitted that some things fell by the wayside as we scrambled to accommodate these new opportunities and maintain our regular schedule. And one of those happened to be our "Orator" or guest posts that were submitted by our readers between August - November 2017.

However...after months of delays and technical issues, we are pleased to finally bring to you some!!

Without further ado, we'll let our "orators" take the podium!!

Two of the most fundamental elements of musical form and structure are repetition and contrast. Repetition charts the course of the song and establishes a melody. The listener gets familiar with the melody and learns to not only recognize it but enjoy it.

An important concept for movie scores is the theme(s). Sometimes certain characters have their own theme, or a certain pace of action or set piece. But the theme grounds the entire story, gets you to understand a character and recognize when he comes along, or makes you ache with emotion when the theme that embodies an entire franchise begins to play.

Contrast is what makes the piece interesting, though. Composers love contrast. They love that suspension that leaves you on the edge of your seat waiting for it to resolve. They love throwing in strange chords that make you go, "Wait--what??"

But contrast is what makes a piece worth listening to. I’m sure everyone has heard a song at some time that was so repetitive that there was no point in listening anymore. It feels like nothing is going to happen.

All of these concepts can apply to plot structure as well. Imagine a story that does not begin with an introduction to the main character, an introduction into his everyday life, or even a hint of what universe he lives in. Disorienting much?

The appearance of repetition is important in the beginning. It makes you understand the character’s normal world, their patterns. It is even important to understand the regular flow of life on whatever planet they live. Now imagine a world where the character has fixed guidelines the entire story. They go to work. They come home. They eat dinner. So forth. Nothing ever changes and the beat of the story plods endlessly forward and yet nowhere.

The plot has to awaken with some form of contrast. Something new and different enters the character’s world. Maybe he gets a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Paris. Maybe he is kidnapped and taken to a hidden base. Something has to change amid the repetition for the story to move somewhere.
The move from “normal world” to “adventure world” is the launch pad for the plot, but elements of contrast don’t stop there. The reader should be constantly taken for loops and turns throughout the rest of the story, because who truly wants a book where they can predict every single outcome? I’ll pass.

Lastly, theme is such an important thing. So important. If your story doesn’t have a heart, how can it be alive? The theme grounds the entire story, whispers its timeless truth into the mind of the reader. Without themes, a movie’s soundtrack is just background noise. It can be cool background noise, but it remains noise nonetheless. The theme is the anchor. It sets the tone and style of the story. It is crucial. It can be subtle. It is not a in-your-face Aesop’s fable or parable. Your book’s theme should take one-hundred-thousand words and make them into one.

About the Reader:

Hello! My name is Christy and I am a writer/graphic designer from TX. I was formally homeschooled and writing was a big hobby of mine. I write mostly YA fantasy fiction and read as many books as I can get my hands on. I saw your recent article on Pinterest and found this site. I am very inspired by what you do and how you encourage Christian values. I love your work, and would very much enjoy being involved! My website is www.christywriting.com and I also post book reviews on theoddwriters.wordpress.com with other collaborators.

Recently, I was reading a book, and I was rather enjoying it. But then, slowly, little by little, the author started introducing more swearing, more romance, more innuendo. I had to put the book away.

I'm sure that this has happened to you before. It's a pretty good book, and then they start presenting sin as 'cool' and 'okay'. I was talking to my mom about it later, and she said something that made me think.

She said, "There's a definite trend of including that type of thing."

This reminded me of one time recently when I was in a store and I saw a package of temporary tattoos marketed to kids as meant to help them 'look cooler, stronger, braver' and to help them 'impress their friends'. The artwork on the front featured a cartoon of a girl making a 'fierce' face, cutting her hair, and showing off her double piercing.

Now, these things aren't bad on their own, necessarily; however, it's the heart behind it-- the thought that the girl is only doing those things to impress her friends-- that is sobering.

Sin. should. not. be. considered. trendy.

Sin is wrong, and it's what separates us from God. When sins such as cursing, premarital relations, etc. are shown as being 'cool' and 'trendy', that's the author causing others to stumble. They don't know who's reading the book. It could be a kid as young as ten years old-- maybe even younger. If they think that sin will make them 'cool', what kind of life are we setting them up to lead?

Exodus 23:2 says: “Don’t do something just because everyone else is doing it. If you see a group of people doing wrong, don’t join them. You must not let them persuade you to do wrong things—you must do what is right and fair. (ERV)

If we follow the Bible's teachings, we are promised that good things will follow. Being considered 'trendy' by your friends now will not lead to happiness later. Being 'cool' in God's book, by His standards, will make definite happiness in the long run. We are meant to store up treasures in Heaven, after all.

So this is the point: It doesn't matter what the world thinks is 'cool' or 'trendy' or anything else, for that matter-- The world is often wrong. God, on the other hand, is never wrong... and sinning to be 'trendy' is never okay.

About the Reader:

Daisy Louise Paquet is an Internet-addicted, self-proclaimed nerd. She likes coffee, books, and sci-fi movies. She may accidentally attack you with sarcasm and Batman references from time to time, but she promises to be nice. She currently resides in a galaxy far, far away with her family and cat. You can check out Daisy's blog HERE.

And that, as they say, is that!!

Our thanks go out to Christy and Daisy for submitting these wonderful thoughts, and especially for their patience! Please go and check out their respective blogs, they are both wonderful!

Next week, RW is going to host one of our most hard-core and lovely Activists.....

Ivie Brooks!

Would you like to contribute a guest post? Click on the Collaborate page and submit the Google Form! As we develop our upcoming schedule, we aim to be *a lot* more timely on publishing them!

Oh, love both!!! Unique idea incorporating repetition and contrast together! I love that :D And, oh my, yes! Sin shouldn't be trendy at all. I guess it's up to us to tell the world what's fashionable ;)